A Shocking Movie That Blurs the Lines of Reality – “Snow On Tha Bluff”
In this article, I will briefly discuss a film that blurs the lines of reality. “Snow On Tha Bluff” is a film that appeared at the annual 2011 Slamdance Film Festival. The movie purports to be about,
“The story of Atlanta robbery boy and crack dealer, Curtis Snow, who stole a camera from some college kids in a dope deal and made a documentary about his life.”
Indeed, the drive-by shootings and the nefarious activity is shockingly realistic. The ‘cinema verite” style film-making proves hard to decipher what is actually real in the film. The Snow On Tha Bluff movie raises many interesting questions; Is this movie a documentary or just a fictional film? Do the filmmakers owe the audience an explanation?
It’s interesting to note, a scene from the movie depicting Curtis Snow’s kid playing in crack cocaine powder caused an uproar at the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival. After watching the controversial scene, a member of the audience caused a disturbance in the theater which resulted in many frightened movie-goers exiting the theater. The movie incites emotion from it’s audience and a host of questions.
Technology has progressed as such, that most of us have video cameras built in our phones ready to capture life’s unfolding drama. Snow On Tha Bluff caters to a new generation that has emerged consuming reality video at lightning speeds. Ordinary people are sharing their stories through a medium that is engaging to a massive audience across the world. Snow On Tha Bluff exposes Atlanta’s west-side neighborhood, “The Bluffs”. Scenes of abandoned homes, drug dealing, shootings, and extreme poverty force us to take notice of “the other side of the tracks”.
Reality television burst onto the scene in the late 80’s with the hit show “Cops”. Since then, the reality formula has surged it’s way through our programming blocks. It seems this medium’s popularity has influenced movies such as “Snow On Tha Bluff”. Are the filmmakers raising important questions for society to answer? Or are they exploiting the scourges of society? The movie’s location is reported by the media to be a notoriously violent hood, with drug activity running rampant. Drawing attention to a neglected war-zone in America may spark change and positive involvement.
This hood film blurs the lines of reality, and it’s important to take an assessment of films that reflect a controversial subject. Films that impact culture from an underground level often prove to further influence artists and our surrounding culture. Is “Snow On Tha Bluff” a future cult classic or a shocking stunt for the masses?
